Silva: Each NFL team enters the offseason with a series of pressing needs. Sometimes a team can address them all, sometimes they ignore them all. But if a team's smart, they'll listen to us. These are the most crucial aspects for NFC teams.
SportsTalk: Albert Pujols signs with the Angels and Prince Fielder joins the Tigers. Which team is better now?
Ryan Callahan scored three goals as the New York Rangers beat Philadelphia 5-2 on Saturday for their seventh straight win over the Flyers.
Jeremy Lin hit a free throw with 4.9 seconds left to overcome a dreadful second half and lift the New York Knicks to their fifth straight victory, 100-98, over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday night.
Arc's five up, five down: After No. 11 Michigan State's 58-48 upset of No. 3 Ohio State, you'd be a fool to discount the Spartans' national title chances now.
CFT: Jordan Jefferson makes it clear he wasn't happy with LSU's game plan in the Tigers' BCS Championship Game loss to Alabama.
Move over, Hollywood and NFL types, golf's two real A-listers take center stage Sunday at Pebble Beach, both in need of a win.
The United States completed a 5-0 rout of Switzerland in the Davis Cup on Sunday, with 19-year-old Ryan Harrison and John Isner winning closing singles matches.
Luis Suarez's refusal to shake hands with Patrice Evra overshadowed Manchester United's 2-1 win over rival Liverpool that lifted the defending champions to first place in the Premier League on Saturday.
Tessa Worley of France fought off gusting winds to win a second consecutive World Cup giant slalom Sunday in the Andorran Pyrenees. Overall leader Lindsey Vonn was more than a second behind and finished eighth.
Robins: It’s the Year of the Dragon on the Lunar calendar, and this Chinese influence could extend to it also being the year of the Pekingese on the green carpet at the 136th Westminster Dog Show on Tuesday.
AP
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - George Brett had a Hall of Fame career with the Kansas City Royals that included more than 3,000 hits, batting titles in three decades, an MVP award and a World Series championship.
Still, for most baseball fans, two words quickly come to mind when they hear Brett’s name: pine tar.
Thursday is the 25th anniversary of Brett’s famous meltdown at Yankee Stadium, an arm-flailing, eye-bulging tirade that came after he hit a homer, then was called out for having pine tar too far up the handle of his bat.
“I am so surprised that you play 20 years in the major leagues and you accomplish some things, and that’s the one at-bat you’re remembered for,” Brett said Wednesday during a conference call with reporters.
The Royals protested the call and it was later overturned. The Royals and Yankees finished the game weeks later and Kansas City won 5-4, with Brett’s home run providing the winning margin.
The July 24, 1983, game has added significance because Yankee Stadium is closing after this season to make way for a new ballpark.
“Only in New York. I think if it happens in Cleveland, it’s not that big of a deal,” Brett said. “I think if it happens someplace else that isn’t New York, it’s not that big of a deal.”
With the Royals trailing 4-3, Brett hit the two-out, two-run homer off closer Goose Gossage, who on Sunday will be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. Brett entered the hall in 1999.
After the blast, Yankees manager Billy Martin immediately protested. Plate umpire Tim McClelland agreed, nullified the home run and called Brett out.
A red-faced Brett charged after McClelland. Teammates and coaches had to forcibly hold Brett back.
“We’ve had a lot of fun with this thing over the years,” said Gossage, also on the conference call. “Of course, at the time it wasn’t fun. ... George was the maddest human being I’ve ever seen.”
Brett said he’s amazed at how angry he became after the call. He watches a tape of the game at least once a year with his sons.
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McClelland said Wednesday he “wasn’t thinking anything” when Brett charged out of the dugout.
“I knew he wasn’t going to hit me or run over me,” McClelland said. “If he did I’d probably own the Kansas City Royals now.”
He described Brett as “a great ambassador to the game” and said the outburst was out of character.
“In my 26 years, he’s the player that’s been the best to the umpires,” McClelland said. Brett, McClelland said, “very seldom argued — except for this one situation.”
McClelland said the umpires made the right call, but the rule concerning pine tar was a bad one.
Brett didn’t wear batting gloves and used pine tar to help his grip. He said he had no idea there was a rule governing how far the sticky material could extend on the bat.
Martin knew the rule and was waiting for an opportune moment to nail Brett.
“If I would’ve made an out, they wouldn’t have said a thing,” Brett said.
Brett, now a vice president of baseball operations with the Royals, kept using the pine tar bat after the incident but eventually stopped and gave it to the Hall of Fame.
SportsTalk: Albert Pujols signs with the Angels and Prince Fielder joins the Tigers. Which team is better now?
DeMarco: Plug in a well-heeled ownership group and negotiate one of those mega-bucks TV deals that are going around, and the Dodgers could become the west coast version of the New York Yankees or Boston Red Sox.
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Jeremy Lin hit a free throw with 4.9 seconds left to overcome a dreadful second half and lift the New York Knicks to their fifth straight victory, 100-98, over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday night.
Doron Lamb hit a 3-pointer with 3:18 left to put No. 1 Kentucky ahead to stay, and the Wildcats took a big step toward a Southeastern Conference regular-season title by beating Vanderbilt 69-63 Saturday night for their 17th straight win.
Wesseling: Each NFL team enters the offseason with a series of pressing needs. Sometimes a team can address them all, sometimes they ignore them all. But if a team's smart, they'll listen to us. These are the most crucial aspects for AFC teams.
